Title: I Believe/Mark 9:14-24
Content I believe / Mark 9:14-24 Rev. Kiho Um
Confucius said that in order for a country to prosper, there must be “foot food, foot disease, and trust”. Here, foot food is the stability of life, and foot disease is self-defense. In this regard, Confucius considers “trust” important, which means that one can live without the country’s economic power and can survive without the military, but trust is the most important factor in the nation’s public confidence. Without it, the country cannot stand.
As Confucius answered, faith in life is an important spirit, order, and philosophy.
However, in today’s world we live in, we may enjoy material wealth and abundance due to atheism, nihilism, and golden almighty, but our mind and soul are even more exhausted due to the loss of faith between people and, more importantly, the loss of faith in God. It is becoming
That is why today the Lord said, “Will you find faith on the earth when the Son of Man comes?” (Luke 18:8), “O unbelieving and perverse generation” (Matthew 17:17), and “O unbelieving generation” (Text verse 19) He is repeatedly rebuking the world of unbelief.
The Apostle Paul said, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). The important thing in our life is not the things that perish in the world or the honor that will perish, but faith in God.
The text introduces the precious faith of a certain father. This brief event shows his faith growing and developing from a weak faith to a strong one.
Therefore, through the text, we would like to look at the three stages of faith and reflect on ourselves.
pleading belief
In Mark 9:1 and below, Jesus went up the Mount of Transfiguration with the three disciples, Peter, James, and John.
At this time, the three disciples could see Jesus being transfigured and his clothes shining, and they also witnessed Elijah, Moses, and Jesus speaking together. However, it was only for a short time that they were drenched in ecstasy at the amazing sight of the Mount of Transfiguration, and when they came down from the mountain, a very human and frustrating reality awaited them.
The nine disciples at the foot of the mountain were arguing with the scribes without being able to solve the problem of the father and the son who had come to heal the mute son.
Seeing this, Jesus said, “Ah! “You unbelieving generation” (verse 19).
In Jesus' view, this generation was truly a faithless generation. But it was the disciples' lack of faith that made Jesus grieve and groan more than the Pharisees or Sadducees' lack of faith.
The faith of the nine disciples and the father of the child was a belief that argued. It was a faith that tried to rationally judge whether Jesus could fix it or not.
But Jesus is power. You are the power. There is nothing that Jesus cannot do.
Moreover, Jesus also gave His power to His disciples (Luke 9:1ff.). But why did the disciples fail to exercise this power? It was because they had the faith they argued, and they did not pray.
Jesus said, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
As Jesus said, there is no power without prayer (James 5:15-16). Without prayer, there is no power, but only pleadings. Therefore, we must move away from the faith that argues and become the faith that prays.
belief in doubt
Perhaps the most depressing thing we hear in our lives is that “there is no one to trust in this world.” There is nothing so unfortunate when we don't trust each other, because faith is the most basic of human relationships and the most important foundation of life. because of.
But in verse 22, the father who had a dumb demon said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, have mercy on us and help us.”
When we say “I can do anything” here, it is a doubting faith. It is a lukewarm faith. Faith is faith, but it is a negative attitude. It is half faith, half doubtful faith.
That is why Jesus rebuked the father of the child in this way (verse 23).
Even today, there are many beliefs of ‘I can do it’. This kind of faith has the form of godliness, but it has no power. The church comes, but nothing has changed and nothing has changed.
But this kind of faith cannot overcome tribulation, persecution, and trials, hardships, and calamities. When the wind blows, it shakes, and when it rains and there is a flood, there is no choice but to fall.
Faith must be a living faith. Abilities and knights must arise and miracles must appear. There is nothing impossible for those who have faith. God also said that nothing is impossible for those who have faith.
Therefore, I hope that you will abandon the belief that you can do anything and become a saint who moves forward with a more mature faith.
confident faith
In verse 24 of the text, the father of the child is making a sincere confession of faith with arsenic.
“Immediately the child's father cried out, saying, I believe; help my unbelief!”
He was the owner of a pleading faith. He was a man with a doubtful belief that ‘I can do it’.
But now, I have become a believer of “I believe.” This is a confident faith.
In the King James Bible, the text reads, “His father repented of his unbelief in tears and pleaded for help in his unbelief.” Help me overcome my distrust."
This father realized that the reason Jesus could not heal his son was not because Jesus had power, but because he did not have faith.
Jesus said, “Why did you argue” and “If you can, what do you mean by this?” rebuked you. And through this rebuke of Jesus, his faith grew into a more mature faith.
The confession, “I believe, help my unbelief,” shows that the very father's faith grew and he became the possessor of complete faith.
When we receive the Lord's reproof sweetly, and we receive the Lord's rebuke with pleasure, we become the owner of great faith.
Therefore, we must become the possessor of a grown faith who consistently confesses, “I believe in You” and “I can do it” even when faced with tribulation, persecution, and sorrow.
Also, the father of the child fell down before Jesus, crying out, “Help my unbelief,” and begged, “Help me.” This shows that his language was changed to a living faith.
Likewise, we should also become believers who repent of our lack of faith and seek help from the Lord, and who live in our confident faith.
The Bible teaches that “they ask and do not find, because of little faith” (Matthew 17:20).
The Red Sea in question, the Jordan River in question, and the city of Jericho in question cannot be divided or collapsed by worldly and human means.
Therefore, God's people should only pray to God with confident faith. We must pour out the tears of prayer of repentance while beating our hearts. We must achieve growth from a faith that pleads and doubts to a certain faith.
Now, let's all become saints who produce miracles of faith by confessing, "Lord, I believe."